Report this content as offensive or unsuitable

Tell us about this content

Important, please read before continuing

This form should only be used for serious complaints about comments posted to the Page Comments section that break the NHS Choices Moderation Rules. This would include, but is not limited to harassing, abusive, threatening, libelous, or otherwise objectionable material.

The comment about which you complain will be sent to a moderator, who will decide whether it breaks the NHS Choices Moderation Rules. You will be contacted in due course once a decision has been made.

Please explain why this content is offensive or unsuitable

Your email address (mandatory)

We need your email address so we can keep you updated about the status of your complaint.

Original content

Part 2 of 2
They got round this by temporarily allowing homeopathy into the scheme (for a second time). This temporary reprieve ends in 2017 unless homeopaths can come up with good scientific evidence for the effectiveness of homeopathy by 2015.
However, User748847 argues for homeopathy to be included in the NHS because it is cheap. It may well be cheap - it is just sugar that has been subjected to a simple ritual after all - but since it has not proven its efficacy, it would be thoroughly unethical to make it available on the NHS or to sell it as if it was a 'medicine'. [5]
The fact that other countries make homeopathy available does not change the state of the evidence for the efficacy of homeopathy.
Alan Henness
Director
The Nightingale Collaboration
References
1 Gurtner, F. 2012. “The Report ‘Homeopathy in Healthcare: Effectiveness, Appropriateness, Safety, Costs’ Is Not a ‘Swiss Report’.” Swiss Medical Weekly (December 17). doi:10.4414/smw.2012.13723. http://www.smw.ch/content/smw-2012-13723/.
2 “A Critique of the Swiss Report Homeopathy in Healthcare - Ernst - 2012 - Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies - Wiley Online Library.” 2012. Accessed June 2. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2042-7166.2012.01160.x/full.
3 “That ‘neutral’ Swiss Homeopathy Report | Zeno’s Blog.” 2013. Accessed January 29. http://www.zenosblog.com/2012/05/that-neutral-swiss-homeopathy-report/.
4 Bornhöft, Gudrun, Peter F Matthiessen, and SpringerLink (Online service). 2011. Homeopathy in healthcare -- Effectiveness, appropriateness, safety, costs an HTA report on homeopathy as part of the Swiss Complementary Medicine Evaluation Programme. Berlin: Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20638-2.
5 “Is Homeopathy Value for Money? | Edzard Ernst.” 2013. Accessed February 17. http://edzardernst.com/2013/02/is-homeopathy-value-for-money/.